Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations, stated on Tuesday that Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been fined $25,000 for breaking league regulations regarding media access. Butler was penalized for skipping the mandated media availability after Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 21.
Butler, the No. 8 seeded Heat’s outstanding player during the incredible postseason run, once again delivered Sunday night as he helped Miami get within one game of the NBA Championship series. Despite Miami’s 128-102 victory over Boston in Game 3 on Sunday, Butler was certainly not in the mood to speak with the media.
Butler was supposed to appear at the podium during the coverage on NBA TV, which has been airing the postgame news conferences, but the star forward never did. Gabe Vincent, Bam Adebayo, and Caleb Martin instead obeyed coach Erik Spoelstra, and Butler was fined on Tuesday.
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In the three games played against the Celtics, Butler is averaging 26.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. In the regular season, he averaged 22.9, 5.9, and 5.3, respectively.
Butler made the decision to make matters worse on Sunday by making fun of Celtics center Al Horford’s victory celebration from the previous evening in which they defeated Boston.
Horford struggled during the game, as did the rest of the Celtics, who fell to Miami by a score of 26. Back in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Horford sank a 3-pointer before turning to face Miami’s team, kneeling, and making a timeout signal with his hands by making a ‘T’ shape.
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Butler imitated Horford’s move on Sunday night during Game 3 in Miami, where the Heat were putting pressure on the Celtics. Butler also stared Horford down the whole match. As Horford passed Butler, noticed him posing, and started jawing at the All-NBA second-teamer, as seen in a fan video that caught the entire exchange.
